Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
Liquid Shadow
Posts: 262
Joined: 8/9/2011
14ers: 58  1  3 
13ers: 68 3 2
Trip Reports (4)
 

Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Post by Liquid Shadow »

Hi guys, I'm thinking about taking a friend to Chasm Lake in the near future as a mild day hike. I have only been to Chasm Lake in the summer, not the winter, so I have a couple of questions.

In the summer time there is a talus slope just before Mills Moraine that is often covered with snow:
Mills Moraine.jpg
Mills Moraine.jpg (189.17 KiB) Viewed 640 times
Is it safe to cross this slope in the winter in terms of avalanche danger?

Also, if it is generally safe, do you think it's possible to practice ice axe self-arrest on the slope?
-OwenZ
Alpineair
Posts: 120
Joined: 9/21/2012
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Post by Alpineair »

That slope can slide and I have seen warnings posted when the danger is high. If you are not certain about the stability you can try to cross it along the very top.
You do not want to practice self arrest there.
Adverse conditions may exist-CDOT
User avatar
Liquid Shadow
Posts: 262
Joined: 8/9/2011
14ers: 58  1  3 
13ers: 68 3 2
Trip Reports (4)
 

Re: Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Post by Liquid Shadow »

Thanks for the heads-up.
-OwenZ
User avatar
Dave B
Posts: 2390
Joined: 6/14/2010
Trip Reports (9)
 

Re: Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Post by Dave B »

I agree that this slope most definitely can slide. However we were out there 10 days ago trouncing all over this snow field while climbing Columbine Falls. The snow was thick and bulletproof wind crust with pockets of sugar near the rocks.

The Bear Lake snotel is only reporting 2-3" with the last storm so the slope is most likely relatively safe. But keep an eye on snow fall amounts and if much more falls it would be advisable to cross the slope up high like mentioned above.

Edited to add: no, it would not be safe to practice self arrest here. The boulders below would not make for a nice runnout if you lost control. Go to St. Mary's Glacier instead.
Make wilderness less accessible.
TomPierce
Posts: 2735
Joined: 11/21/2007
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Post by TomPierce »

Agree with Dave that the slope can slide, and I read of a few deaths that occurred there I believe back in the 70's, not sure about that. I've crossed it many times in the winter and have not seen any slide debris, but of course in worse conditions it's a risk. One thing I noted when crossing it is that the lower terrain, down the chute of the waterfalls to the small pond (Peacock Pool?) is a textbook terrain trap, so even a small slide could theoretically produce a very bad outcome if a hiker was swept down to the pool and buried. Just my opinion, be careful.
-Tom
Stevo68
Posts: 54
Joined: 6/16/2011
14ers: 6 
13ers: 2
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Snow play near Chasm Lake?

Post by Stevo68 »

ive crossed this several times with snow galore it always seemed packed but dont let that fool you. I always had my axe, crampons, and a clinched butthole and been fine.
Ride to Live....Live to Ride
Post Reply